The present invention relates to occupant safety apparatuses, specifically apparatuses for reducing the forward velocity of an occupant of a vehicle involved in a collision or another event that imparts forward velocity to the occupant of a vehicle.
The inventor regularly drives on interstate highways and other public thoroughfares and has witnessed the tragic and devastating results of vehicular collisions. Such vehicular collisions occur hundreds of times each day and as a result an estimated 115 people are killed each day and countless others are seriously injured.
While returning home from work one day, the inventor witnessed a particularly severe accident and then began questioning the safety of his own vehicle. After researching the improvements that have been made in the automobile industry over the years, the inventor realized that the majority of advances were related to force absorbing crumple zones in the frames and chassis, anti-lock braking mechanisms and airbag related technologies.
It became apparent that the industry was geared toward these high tech solutions and did not focus on one of the most basic safety devices, the seatbelt. As such, seatbelt technology has not progressed or been given the same level of attention as other safety enhancing technologies.
After speaking with individuals who had survived automobile accidents of varying degrees of severity, the inventor quickly realized that many of the survivors had a common story, although they were not severely injured from their accidents they were either bruised or suffered from whiplash caused by their seat belt. The inventor realized that there must be a better way to design a seat belt apparatus that can reduce the collateral damage caused from a vehicular collision or another event that imparts forward velocity to an occupant of a vehicle.
In order to address this problem the inventor invented the present invention, specifically a reusable apparatus for reducing the forward velocity of an occupant of a vehicle. The present invention comprises essentially of a casing member, a piston member substantially housed in the casing member, a piston resistance mechanism and a piston release mechanism.
The present invention might be a standard feature for new automobiles or it might be an after-market addition to older model automobiles; in either situation one end of the hollow casing of the present invention is fixedly attached to a seatbelt anchor located on the interior frame of the vehicle and the exposed end of the piston member is fixedly attached to the seatbelt webbing material.
In normal operation, when the present invention is installed in between the seatbelt anchor and the seatbelt webbing material, the piston member is substantially housed in the casing member.
However, in the event the vehicle is involved in a collision or another event that imparts forward velocity on the occupant, the piston member slides about the longitudinal axis of the casing member at a rate determined by the resistance of the piston resistance mechanism.
After the piston member has slid about the longitudinal axis of the casing member, the occupant might return the piston to its position substantially housed in the casing member by activating the piston resistance release mechanism. Once the piston member is returned to its position substantially housed in the casing member, the apparatus may be used again.
An objective of the present invention, is to provide an apparatus that reduces the forward velocity of an occupant of a vehicle involved in a collision or another event that imparts forward velocity to the occupant of a vehicle.
Another objective of the present invention, is to provide a safety apparatus that may reduce the severity of injuries sustained by an occupant of a vehicle involved in a collision or another event that imparts forward velocity to the occupant of a vehicle.
Another objective of the present invention, is to provide a safety apparatus that may be installed in vehicles as an aftermarket feature.
Another objective of the present invention, is to provide a safety apparatus that is inexpensive to produce.
Yet a further objective of the present invention, is to provide a safety apparatus that may be reused multiple times.
Attempts to address these problems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,385 (hereinafter the “385 patent”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,439 (hereinafter the “439 patent”) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,969 (hereinafter the “969 patent”). However, each one of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages. The references fail to address an apparatus that can be reused by the occupant and uses only mechanical means to provide resistance for the piston member.
For the foregoing reasons there exists a need for a reusable safety apparatus for reducing the forward velocity of an occupant of a vehicle involved in a collision or another event that imparts forward velocity to the occupant of a vehicle comprising essentially of a casing member, a piston member substantially housed in the casing member, a piston resistance mechanism and a piston resistance release mechanism.